Dermatologist Journey Part I

I started seeing a dermatologist, Dr Joyce Lim, to help achieve the good skin I had before. My skin was breaking out quite badly in my nose area after my trip to Indonesia. While in Indonesia, my cousin told me about this dermatologist that she has been seeing. My cousin has problematic skin and has seen many different dermatologists before. But she mentioned that Dr. Joyce Lim's treatment works effectively without any negative side effects such as bad breakouts, peeling or dry skin. She said in one week she noticed difference in her skin condition. This made me want to try Dr. Joyce Lim's treatment. I asked her about the price and she said it was between $200-300 in total, which I think is reasonable priced for a dermatologist. 

A picture of my skin condition without any face makeup. This is after one week of using the steroid cream for my sensitive skin. There is some redness around the nose area. Plus some tiny pimples on my T-zones especially between my eyebrows and on top of my eyebrows. 

When I got back to Singapore, I made an appointment to see Dr. Joyce Lim. During the consultation, I told her about my ultra sensitive skin and acne breakouts. A few points I like to mention about what she said.

1. She said sunscreen is a common cause of acne. So she told me to stop using sunscreen for a while unless I will be outdoor for an extended time. 
2. For oily skin, using cleansing oil to remove makeup is a no-no. She recommend that I use Bioderma cleansing water especially the one for oily/combination skin. 
3. She said that since my acne was around my nose area, it was due to hormonal causes. By the age of 30, my acne will disappear. But she said it should be treated to prevent scarring. 
4. For sensitive skin, I should NOT be using masks and scrubs. 
5. It may take up to 3 months to get my skin to a good condition. In the meantime, my skin might breakout all at once. Because the treatment is "getting rid" of all the acne that is trapped beneath the skin surface. She said that my once a month huge pimple might pop up all at once. That seriously put me off for a bit. But no pain, no gain right?

So here are what she prescribed for the acne treatment: 

Step 1: Vitamin C serum all over the face day & night

Step 2: Antioxidant Moisture Solution all over the face day & night 

Step 3: Dalacin gel (an antibiotic) for spot treating acne day & night

Step 4: Retin-A Cream to be used every other night. 

I've only started this regimen for two days. Before that she gave me a steroid cream (Desonide Cream) to treat my sensitive skin first. I was using it for a week before starting on this acne treatment. During that week, I only used that steroid cream and no other face products. 

I will update you all again in a week about my skin condition. Wish me luck!